Student Leaders

NCR and Penn Mutual understand the importance of recognizing students-athletes who set themselves apart as leaders. The Student-Leader of the Month Program allows clubs to share success stories that demonstrate how rugby is more than just ’80 minutes of playing a game on a patch of grass’. The sport of rugby is an important part of developing young adults into tomorrow’s leaders.

As part of our Leadership Development Program, NCR developed the Student-Leader of the Month recognition program to recognize student-athletes who go above and beyond in both leadership and community service efforts.

Details on how to nominate a deserving Student-Leader will be released prior to the 2020/2021 season.

Penn Mutual Student-Leaders of the Month

NCR would like to congratulate Katie Sendek (College of Wooster) and Chris Peake (UMass Dartmouth) on being selected as the Penn Mutual Small College Student-Leaders of the Month for November 2019!

Coach Anne-Marie Lemal says that, “Katie has shown a level of commitment to the team that is truly commendable. She is early to every practice to work on her own skills and works with new players to teach them skills both before and after practices. She helps train new players in the gym as well. Katie has been involved in the club as a board member, treasurer, recruitment coordinator and line captain. She leads the warmups and post-game + practice stretching. Her ideas and hard work helped to get the rugby club where it is now. She was also selected for the Ohio All-Star Sevens squad.”

Katie is a Cognitive Neuroscience major who is investigating the effect of acquisition context on the emotional processing of language. She works in the Institutional Research Department in IT. She also tutors other students in math and science.

Club President Kevin Duffy says that, “Chris contributes to the club in many ways mostly off the the field, He is the Treasurer of the club and has been huge maintaining the clubs budget for both the men’s and women’s teams have both made trips to the NSCRO Regional Championships the in last 2 years. He is a leader off the field helping set up events in which the club participated in harvesting crops for local food pantries in the fall, and plans to organize an event in which the club will clean up a civil/revolutionary war cemetery on campus. He also exceeds in the classroom maintaining a 3.7 GPA whilst never missing a practice he is has had a huge role on tour club this last year that had one of the best season in the history of the club on and off the field.”